Sunday, January 11, 2015

Recycled Movie Costume Fame at last! ;-)

If my cheek were not so sore, I would place my tongue in it when I say that I have now reached the height of happiness by achieving my first acknowledgement on Recycled Movie Costumes.
Reader if you know not of this site, but you love a good costume drama (even if it's just for the costumes, lookin' at you Downton Abbey)  then do check it out. Its entire purpose is to identify examples of where a costume has been used in more than one TV programme or film. It is fascinating to browse though and see the examples - gowns from the 1969 production of Anne of a Thousand days turning up in The Tudors for example (this I find fascinating as the styling of The Tudors is so utterly indifferent to actual Tudor styling, the costumes also look completely wrong.) Shows even use the same costumes in different episodes on completely different characters.
Anyway, have a geek out if it's your thing.
My contribution came from watching Burke and Hare, a movie I didn't like one bit, but as Andy Serkis and Simon Pegg were in it, MrC wanted to watch it, so I just glanced up from my book to check out the costumes.
I could only identify one match, the dress at the end of this link, which had been spotted in many shows before. But I am sure there were many more - it didn't strike me as a very high budget job and there would have been a lot of specific costume requirements to use up the budget as it is.
This is the dress I spotted:
Being worn by Isla Fisher in Burke and Hare 2012
Spotted in three other productions as well since its original debut on Kate Beckinsale as Emma 1997

If I may geek out a moment, costume dramas seem to be divided into two types - ones which attempt to be authentic in their styling from clothing and hair and makeup to manners and modes in general. The Tudors is a perfect example of one which deliberately prioritises the current day over the past. Loose locks, bee stung lips, acres of cleavage on show, it is a disgrace to my mind anyway. 
Of the other kind, I don't think any show has truly managed to recreate the time it was set or to avoid unconscious leakage from the time it was made. This production of Emma is a perfect example. In the mid 90s, brown was the new black, and vertical frills or flounces were very 'in'. the 'poet shirt' reigned supreme, with its circular cut front flounce. The costume as show on Kate above shows the latter, and the base colour of her entire wardrobe was brown.
Brown velvet pelisse, brown velvet hat, vertical frill. 1997 much?
This floppy hat style is SO late '90s, but was it ever SO 1810? 
So while it was technically much better than many, it is still unconsciously (I assume) of its time. 
Anyway, I am very pleased with my acknowledgement - it is the second spotting I have submitted, however the first one had already been identified just not listed as yet. I still get credit for that if it ever DOES get credited.
If you are an afficianado of Regency costume dramas, I suggest you do a Google image search on this movie and see if you too spot any recycled gowns. This pelisse is tugging at my memory, not just because it is inspired by one on Patterns of Fashion
Two gorgeous pelisses on Isla Fisher and Jessica Hynes. Fisher's airforce blue pelisse with the distinctive laurel corded work down the front edges keeps tugging at my memory. either way it IS nice to see a massive fur muff in use, as was on trend at the time!




3 comments:

  1. Congratulations... I am so happy for you.. The costumes are beautiful.. Such a wonderful job.

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    1. It's such a silly thing to achieve, but spotting a recycled costume is so very satisfying!

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  2. How interesting! I can totally get that sense of satisfaction, I LOVE spotting actors who have been in something obscure but this is a whole other level!

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